"Now is the time for the party to unite, because the general election will provide a clear contrast," said a statement released by Joyce. "I want to spend less of hardworking taxpayers' money. I want to help job creators. I want to put Americans in control of their own future and I want to balance our budget."

Joyce, of Russell Township, portrayed himself as a conservative who is willing to work with others to get things done. He said he belongs to conservative and moderate groups in the House, and that "when you ramp up the rhetoric you're never going to have the opportunity to bring about meaningful change.”

Lynch said a more hard right approach was needed. He faulted GOP congressional leaders for "falling apart" in budget negotiations and failing to win concessions from President Obama.

“Unlike my opponent, I have proven that when the liberal Republican establishment has attempted to bully me into betraying conservatives to support their destructive and intrusive liberal policies, I have stood up to them and will not sell out the people who elected me,” Lynch said during the campaign.

Even though Joyce won election to Congress in 2012 by beating a Democrat, Libertarian and Green Party candidate, this was the first time the former Geauga County prosecutor faced Republican primary voters as a congressional candidate.

In 2012, GOP leaders in the seven counties the district includes – Lake, Geauga, Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Trumbull, Portage and Summit - selected Joyce to replace longtime GOP congressman Steve LaTourette as the party’s candidate when LaTourette dropped out of the race too late for a primary election to be conducted.

Members of the selection committee released a statement last week that accused Lynch of repeatedly making the false claim that Joyce’s selection was rigged by LaTourette, when LaTourette had actually “declined to be involved” in the process.

A defiant Lynch replied that LaTourette engineered his departure to keep voters from choosing his successor, so “party bosses” could do it in a “smoke filled room.”

“Instead of 14 people picking the Republican nominee the voters now have a choice for the first time in over 20 years,” said Lynch.

The race was contentious from the outset, with Lynch accusing Joyce of being a “liberal” Republican who had sold out conservatives, while Joyce accused Lynch of failing to pay his taxes, as well as opposing a balanced budget and a $2.7 billion tax cut for Ohioans.

The pair touted dueling endorsements from anti-abortion and gun rights groups and Lynch claimed backing from former GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul, an ex-congressman from Texas.

Joyce had raised more than $1.6 million for his re-election as of the middle of April, and still had more than $1 million in the bank. Lynch’s pre-primary filing with the Federal Election Commission showed he raised less than $100,000 for the contest and had about $25,000 in the bank in mid-April.

Special interest groups spent heavily in the race. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce paid $350,000 for television ads to back Joyce and the American Hospital Association spent about $115,000 on its own pro-Joyce ads. A Super-PAC run by LaTourette spent $139,000 on mailings to back Joyce and denounce Lynch.

“Washington needs more leaders like Dave Joyce who stand firmly for free enterprise and have the courage to govern,” said a statement that Chamber of Commerce national political director Rob Engstrom released after Joyce's victory.

Tea Party groups poured money into the race on Lynch’s behalf. FreedomWorks for America spent around $70,000, and The Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund spent around $25,000.

"The only way the K Street Republicans are pulling off these victories is spending gobs and gobs of money." said Brandon. "I don't think it is sustainable. In the short-term we are taking our lumps but in the longterm, everyone is running these races to be the better fiscal conservative and to fight Obamacare. We are setting the agenda."

The Democrat that Joyce will face in November – Moreland Hills attorney Michael Wager – did not have a primary contest, but he ran cable TV ads that attacked Lynch as “too extreme for Ohio.”

Lynch said Wager’s ad campaign against him showed Democrats didn’t want to face him in the general election, while Joyce’s camp claimed the opposite. They said Wager’s ad was a tactic to urge conservative primary voters to put a Republican on the ballot who would be too far right to win November’s general election, which would help Wager win the middle-of-the road district.

Libertarian David Macko will also be on the November ballot in the race.

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